Word this week

Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins (c 1616), by Hieronymus Francken the Younger

The 32nd Sunday of the Year

Wis 6:12-16; 1 Thess 4:13-18; Mt 25:1-13 (Year A)

“O God, you are my God, for you I long; for you my soul is thirsting. My body pines for you like a dry, weary land without water.” The psalmist’s prayer springs from a longing at the heart of humanity. There is, within us all, a loneliness that remains unsatisfied until it has surrendered itself to the love of another. It is as fundamental as the dry land that cries out for water.

The psalm prompts us to consider the many longings in our lives. Some are superficial, even sinful. They can never satisfy our longing to love and be loved, to understand and be understood.

God’s call to Israel reached out to this longing. He had called a people to himself, not because they were the greatest of nations, but because he had heard their cry, responding with love and compassion. He had called them to find themselves in him. He would be their God, they would be his people.

The starting point of our own relationship with the Father is the same. We live in his love, not from any merit of our own but because, before the foundation of the world, he has called us in Christ to live through love in his presence.

​How to continue reading…

This article appears in the Catholic Herald magazine - to read it in full subscribe to our digital edition from just 30p a week